Shirtless Encounters
by AnAverageGirl15
Summary: Felicity was used to seeing Oliver without his shirt. She forgot that not everyone else was though.


When they had made their plans to go on vacation and Thea said she wanted to go somewhere warm, Felicity hadn't thought anything of it. They booked a flight for six – her, Oliver, Moira, Walter, Thea, and Roy (much to Oliver's chagrin) – to fly out to one of the Queen's vacation homes on the California coastline.

Having their own personal beach had the benefit of not having to worry about unwanted attention from prying eyes. It also allowed Oliver and Felicity to announce privately why they had wanted to have the family together. There was going to be a new member to the family in five and a half months.

By the third day though, Felicity wanted to go explore the different boardwalks. The closest one was at Venice Beach, and Thea jumped on the idea wanting to see the local shops. Moira and Walter decided to stay behind, wanting to take the time to reconnect after their long divorce. Oliver was loading the back of their car when Felicity came out with Thea and Roy. She headed to the trunk to place her bag in it when she noticed that Oliver was wearing a baseball cap. She plucked it off his head and placed it on top of hers, smiling at him as he looked at her. "What's with the cap?"

Oliver placed her bag in the trunk, closing it before he said, "There are always paparazzi at these beaches. Just bringing it as a precaution."

Felicity frowned at that. She hadn't thought of the paparazzi. "We can stay here if you think they'll cause a problem. I don't mind."

Oliver wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him. "No, we're going. You haven't seen this boardwalk yet and Thea already has the whole day planned out. If we cancel now, we'll never hear the end of it from her." He leaned forward as he whispered against her lips, "And I wouldn't pass up seeing you in your bikini."

Felicity laughed softly before kissing him. Humming slightly at that, she said, "Such a compelling argument. But what would I get out of this, Mr. Queen?" Oliver leaned in and whispered in her ear exactly what he would do for her before he slowly started to kiss his way from her ear to her mouth, leaving her breathless.

Thea leaned outside the car window and shouted, "You two lovebirds, the day isn't getting any younger. Come on!"

Slowly pulling back she whispered to him as she slid her hand up under his shirt – letting her nails drag across his skin, "I'm holding you to that."

Oliver's pupils dilated as he stifled a groan leaning his forehead against hers. He was just about to kiss her again when the car horn blared, Thea glaring at the two through the back window. Placing his hat back on him, Felicity kissed Oliver one more time before she walked toward the passenger seat.

The drive to the beach was filled with Thea filling everyone in on what they were going to do. Now that she knew Felicity was pregnant, she had a lot more shopping for both her niece or nephew and Felicity. She shushed Felicity each time she protested the idea. Once they arrived Thea wrapped her arm through Felicity's and started toward the nearest clothing shop.

Two hours later Felicity had four new outfits that she could wear later in her pregnancy and ten new sets of baby clothes – all gender neutral. After dropping off the bags of clothing, Thea deemed it okay for them to head to the beach, saying that this was the best time to get a tan. Roy muttered a 'thank god' causing Felicity to laugh at Thea's glare. Oliver even felt himself smile a little, feeling sorry for Roy. He remembered how much Thea loved to shop and that was only when she was 12. Since being back he had blessedly not been dragged on her shopping excursions but he knew she still had them, based off of Felicity's outings with her.

Grabbing Felicity's hand, the couple started to walk toward the beach. They watched as Roy ran ahead of them, pulling his shirt off as he ran, with Thea close behind him – her sundress finding its way in a pile next to Roy's shirt. Felicity shook her head as she saw Roy grab Thea around her waist and carried her into the ocean, both laughing as a wave hit them. Felicity stopped where the two had discarded their clothes, picking them up and placing them inside her beach bag.

She bit her lip as she grabbed the sun block. She wanted to call Thea and Roy back so they could put on some, but she didn't want to sound like their mother either. She had made sure both she and Oliver had put some on before they left, even though she never fully finished putting sun block on Oliver since he distracted her as he put some on her in places that would not see the sun. She continued to contemplate it even as Oliver took the bottle from her and placed it back in the bag. He leaned down to whisper in her ear from behind her, "I'll remind them in a bit. Don't worry."

Felicity pursed her lips as she tried to lie, "I'm not worrying." At Oliver's look she sighed and relented, "Fine, I'm worrying. I can't help it!"

Oliver laughed at her pout before wrapping his arms around her, his hands laying on the small baby bump. He kissed her neck, causing her breath to hitch as his beard rubbed against her sensitive skin. Her hands fell to his arms as Oliver told her sincerely, "You're going to be a great mom."

Felicity turned around in his arms, letting her hands slide up his chest to wrap around his neck, as she told him, "And you're going to be an amazing dad." She saw the flash of doubt in his eyes at her words. Drawing him down, she pressed her lips against his softly before she said again, "You are going to be an amazing father. I know you will."

He kissed her forehead as he murmured, "I don't know what you see in me sometimes."

Felicity tipped his hat back as she said, "I see the man I've always seen. The man I fell in love with. Who I still love."

Oliver leaned down and kissed her gently as Thea called out from the water, "Come on you guys! You're missing out on all the fun." She then shrieked as Roy pulled her under the water.

Felicity rolled her eyes and laughed at them, her past worry forgotten as she pulled her own sundress off, dropping it into her bag along with her glasses. Oliver's baseball cap and shirt quickly followed and they started to head toward Thea and Roy.

From the first time Felicity saw Oliver shirtless, his scars never fazed her. She accepted them for what they were – signs of Oliver's will to survive. She was never repulsed by them. They never made her think of him as damaged or different. And she never commented on them because she knew that when he was ready, he would tell her about them. The scars made her love him a little more, along with each scar he gained over the years from their cause.

She hadn't thought of the fact that the public eye hadn't seen Oliver shirtless since before his shipwreck; before his torture. As they made their way to the water though, she could feel people staring and she realized then that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. However, Oliver didn't seem to notice.

Felicity knew that Oliver was not ashamed of his scars. Although when they had first gotten together he had asked her silently with his eyes if the scars bothered her. She had answered him by slowly kissing each scar on his body, showing him exactly how much she cared (and loved) him. However, that didn't stop the swell of emotion in her chest to protect Oliver from any kind of ridicule from anyone. He had already been through enough in his life.

Oliver must have seen something on her face because he leaned in and told her, "Stop thinking about it. They'll think whatever they think."

Felicity frowned though before she said, "I still don't like it. They don't even know you and they're already judging you."

Oliver wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her into his side before he told her softly, "I don't care what they think. I already know what the people that matter to me think. That's all I care about."

Felicity knew he was right, he knew what his family and friends thought, that they loved him no matter what. She still didn't like it though. Grabbing hold of Oliver's hand, she smiled at him, her love plainly showing in her eyes, letting him know exactly how she felt. As she started to run toward the water she made a plan to make this trip as carefree and fun as possible for Oliver. Felicity couldn't help the yelp of shock as the cold water hit her skin or the laugh of surprise when Oliver lifted her up in his arms and started to walk in the water holding her.

Felicity was not expecting for him to dunk both of them down in the cold water. When they resurfaced, she glared at Oliver as he smiled down at her. "Oliver Queen, you are going to pay for that!"

He laughed at her words before saying, "And what are you going to do when you're trapped in my arms?"

She smiled evilly at him before looking over his shoulder and nodded subtly at Roy. Felicity took in a deep breath as Roy dove down and tackled Oliver from underneath the water. She would have laughed at his wide-eyed shock if she didn't have to hold her breath as they were both pulled under the water. Wriggly out off his grasp, Felicity resurfaced first, laughing with Thea as both Roy and Oliver appeared. Oliver turned his gaze to Felicity and Thea before he said, "You two better start running."

Felicity shrieked as he lunged for them. He grabbed Thea by the waist, with her shouting at him, "No Ollie, don't do it!" Felicity watched as he smiled boyishly, thinking that this was what it must have been like for him and Thea before the island, before she watched him swing Thea around and toss her into deeper waters. Thea came up, laughing as Oliver dove under the water and dragged Felicity under the water. They both appeared at the same time just as Thea felt arms wrap around her legs and pull her under.

Felicity and Oliver watched as Thea and Roy continued to one up the other between splashing and taking each other down. Felicity felt Oliver's chest rumble with laughter, causing her to look up at his smiling face. She smiled softly before she said, "I like seeing you like this."

Oliver continued to smile as he looked down at her and asked, "Like what?"

Felicity gently traced his brow as she said, "Not worrying about anything. You always have so much on your mind. It's nice to see you so…boyish. You deserve it."

His smile softened before he cupped her cheek and leaned down, his lips brushing against hers. Felicity's hand wrapped behind his neck, her fingers threading through his wet hair as his hands found her waist. They tightened as she bit his bottom lip and sucked on it softly before she deepened the kiss. His fingers dipped into her bottoms as one of her hands skimmed down his back, her fingers lightly tracing his scars as he drew her closer to him. Oliver was just about to lift her up when a wave of water was splashed at them.

Felicity screamed in shock as Oliver wrapped his arm around her, drawing her into his chest. They looked up at each other, a plan of attack already forming before they looked back at both Thea and Roy. They spent another hour in the ocean before they had to head back to the summerhouse to meet up for dinner with Walter and Moira.

Felicity hadn't thought anything would have come from the trip to the beach. She definitely hadn't thought that they're moments on the beach would have been captured. She didn't notice the man in the distance holding the camera snapping pictures of them from the moment they stepped on the beach. They were only alerted to it when Diggle sent both her and Oliver a text telling them to check out the cover of a magazine.

Felicity frowned as she pulled the website up on her tablet. There were several pictures of just her and Oliver, some with Thea and Roy, and some with all four of them at the beach. Her frown deepened as she read the short article that accompanied the pictures.

"_On Thursday the Queen family was spotted on Venice Beach enjoying a nice family outing. It would appear that they were celebrating some happy news as they shopped at local baby boutiques. Oliver Queen was photographed hugging wife, Felicity Queen, as they watched his sister, Thea Queen, and her fiancé, Roy Harper, in the ocean. It appeared that Felicity was showing off her small baby bump in a beautiful sundress. The happy, expecting couple soon joined the family in the water, giving us the first glimpse of the baby bump as well as Oliver without his shirt. _

_Almost seven years after his return from being lost at sea, this is the first time Oliver Queen was photographed without his shirt after being a regular in tabloids before the shipwreck. One can only speculate what he went through as he was photographed, revealing multiple scars on his back, chest, and abdomen. Either way, the family appeared to be having a good time, enjoying each other in the water and the happy couple even shared a kiss while in the water. _

_This will be Oliver and Felicity Queen's first child after two years of marriage, the couple being together for five years. No comment was given as to when the baby is due. We were told that the Queen's are very excited about the baby and would like to keep the pregnancy as private as possible. We wish them all the best with the upcoming bundle of joy._"

Felicity was about to hack into the magazine's website when Oliver took the tablet from her and placed it on the nightstand. "Don't worry about it." Felicity was about to say something but Oliver shook his head and told her softly, "Remember what I told you at the beach? As long as I know what you and our family feels, anything else, whatever anyone else thinks doesn't matter. Okay?"

Felicity leant in and kissed him softly before whispering, "Okay." They kissed again, it slowly at first before Oliver gently pushed her to lie back on the bed. Clothes were shed not long after and as they moved together her hands slid up his back, Felicity gasped out, "Oliver." He looked up at her from where he had been lavishing her breast, his intense eyes piercing through her as she told him, "I love you. All of you."

His eyes darkened as his mouth found hers, their kiss speaking emotions that couldn't be put into words. And as they came apart together, Oliver felt the happiest he had ever felt, knowing he had found the one person that accepted him from the beginning for what he was. She accepted all the good and bad in him, never asking him to change. As their breathing slowed down, Oliver tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, kissing various places on her face before kissing her on the lips. Pulling back he watched as Felicity smiled up at him, feeling her finger trace one of his scars on his back. He whispered softly, in slight awe, "How did I get so lucky to have you?"

Felicity's eyes softened at his words before she told him honestly, "I saw the man underneath that playboy act. My heart never stood a chance after I found you bleeding in my backseat. After I saw the amazing man you are."

Oliver leaned his forehead against hers as he whispered, "I love you, so damn much." He didn't have to say it because she knew. Felicity knew that as he kissed her he was thanking her for staying with him, for being there for him, and waiting for him. And she told him silently as she kissed him back that she would always be there for him, always accept him for who he was, and love him, scars and all.


End file.
